TODAY NEWS ON June 26, 2026

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants
Source: The Hindu , Indian Express and others

Venezuelans search rubble for survivors as death toll climbs to 188

Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped. More were feared dead from the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday (June 24, 2026) evening — among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and felt throughout the region. Some 1,500 people were injured, thousands were reported missing and buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon.

Govt. restores commercial LPG supply, withdraws sectoral mandates

The Union government restored the supply of industrial and commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to pre-crisis levels and withdrew all sector-specific allocation caps that had been imposed at the peak of the West Asia crisis, citing an improved supply situation. In addition to this, bulk LPG consumers will be allotted 50% of their pre-crisis consumption requirements. Supplies had been suspended at the onset of the crisis.

Passport fees hiked to ₹2,500 from July 1

The application fee for an ordinary fresh passport containing 36 pages has been hiked from ₹1,500 to ₹2,500, as the Union government revised the passport fee structure through an amendment to the Passports Rules, 1980. The new rules will come into effect from July 1. According to a notification dated June 20, and published by the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday (June 25, 2026), the reissue of a 36-page passport will also cost ₹2,500, while a tatkal application for a fresh or reissued passport will cost ₹5,000 as opposed to the current ₹3,500 rate.

FIR against eight persons over ‘embezzlement of Ram Temple Trust donations’ in Ayodhya

A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in Ayodhya based on a complaint from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust against eight individuals and unknown persons, including Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Manish Yadav, Luvkush Mishra, Karunesh Pandey, Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, Anukalp Mishra and Avinash Shukla on charges of embezzlement, fraud, criminal conspiracy and breach of trust over missing donations in the Ram Temple Trust. Reacting to the FIR, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav described it as a glimpse of injustice, adding powerful culprits would be protected.

Health Ministry expands QR code-based drug traceability to vaccines, antimicrobials, and cancer medicines

The Union Health Ministry has notified amendments to the Drugs Rules, 1945, to expand the ambit of Schedule H2 and bring additional categories of drugs under the QR code-based track-and-trace framework. With this amendment, manufacturers of these drug formulations will be required to print or affix a bar code or Quick Response (QR) code on the primary packaging label of the product or, where there is inadequate space, on the secondary packaging label. The QR code shall store information that can be accessed through software applications to facilitate authentication and verification of the product throughout the supply chain.

Emergency was direct assault on the Constitution: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Emergency was a direct assault on the Constitution as the period witnessed the suspension of civil liberties, curbs on freedom of expression, and an assault on institutions that are the bedrock of Indian democracy. In a post on X on the 51st anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency, Mr. Modi paid homage to all those who steadfastly defended democratic values during “one of the darkest chapters in India’s history”.

Opposition seeks rollback of new FCRA Rules, flags ‘overreach’ and impact on civil society

Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal and Communist Party of India (Marxist) Rajya Sabha leader John Brittas have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, respectively, seeking the withdrawal of the recently notified Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2026, arguing that the changes will adversely affect the functioning of civil society organisations. The new rules, notified on June 22, require non-government organisations (NGOs) to register under one of five categories — social, economic, educational, cultural, and religious — with separate activity lists prescribed for each.

India initiates anti-dumping probe against three Chinese products

India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against imports of three products from China, following separate complaints by domestic manufacturers, according to a Commerce Ministry notification. The products are thermal paper, Biaxially Oriented Polyamide (BOPA) film, and certain antioxidants. Four other countries are also involved in the probe — Korea, Singapore, the U.S., and Thailand.

After years of curtailed trade, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri discusses “opportunities to cooperate” with Iranian counterpart

Indicative of a potential revival in energy cooperation, Union Minister for Petroleum Hardeep Singh Puri met his Iranian counterpart Mohsen Paknejad on the sidelines of the BRICS Energy Ministers’ Meeting. India had halted purchases of crude from Tehran in 2019 following U.S. sanctions. According to data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea, India purchased 518 thousand barrel per day of Iranian oil in 2018 which slowed down to 268 thousand barrel per day between January and May 2019 when the U.S. granted a temporary waiver.

U.S.-Iran deal may leave Netanyahu as biggest casualty: analysts

The biggest casualty of ​the U.S.-Iran deal may not be Israel’s Iran strategy, but the political brand Benjamin Netanyahu spent decades building as the Israeli leader who could uniquely bend Washington to his will on Iran, analysts, former U.S. officials and ‌diplomats say. Mr. Netanyahu shaped his political identity on an audacious assertion: that he alone could keep the U.S. and Israel in strategic lockstep on Iran. Cultivating ​Republican support, he cast himself as the only Israeli leader capable of influencing successive U.S. presidents and insisted that only sustained military pressure could contain Tehran.

Civil Aviation Ministry, DIAL launch Air Suvidha 2.0 portal for Ebola health screening at points of entry in India

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Thursday (June 25, 2026) launched Air Suvidha 2.0, an upgraded contactless passenger health self-declaration portal, to strengthen public health surveillance at points of entry in response to the ongoing Ebola disease outbreak. The launch follows the World Health Organisation’s declaration of the Ebola/Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 17 under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005.

Jaishankar calls for closer cooperation with South Korea at Jeju Forum

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday (June 25, 2026) said that India and South Korea “must cooperate more closely” in fields like ship-building, health, infrastructure and defence. The Minister also called for “greater capacity and opportunities” for the Global South to create new factors of growth, while highlighting that “the interests of a few” nations are being “openly prioritised” - without naming any country. Mr. Jaishankar is currently in South Korea on a two-day visit, the second leg of an ongoing foreign tour, after having visited Mongolia.

Europe heatwave is ‘price to pay for fossil fuel pollution’: UN climate chief

The heatwave scorching Europe has the fingerprints of climate change all over it and is “the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet”, UN climate chief Simon Stiell said on Thursday (June 25, 2026). Europe has endured extreme heat this week, with record-breaking temperatures in France, Britain and Spain and other countries issuing high-level heat alerts.

Pakistan says Iran-U.S. talks expected to resume next week

Pakistan has said talks between the U.S. and Iran are expected to resume next week. In a statement issued late on Wednesday (June 24, 2026), Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said “parties are on the table” and that the process was going on. The U.S. and Iran last week signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at restoring peace in West Asia.

Amazon CEO meets PM Modi; announces plans to invest additional $13 billion in India on cloud, AI

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who is on a visit to India, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday (June 25, 2026). During the meeting, Mr. Jassy outlined the e-commerce giant’s plans to invest an additional $13 billion in India to expand AI and cloud infrastructure by 2030. The fresh investment line-up will take Amazon’s total capital infusion in the country to $48 billion in the coming five years.

Merlin the duck takes a trip to the stadium, but FIFA rules keep him out of Mexico match

One of the biggest folk heroes of this World Cup, Merlín the duck arrived outside Mexico City’s stadium on Wednesday to great fanfare — but was ultimately told he could not remain for Mexico’s match against the Czech Republic. After winning hearts across social media, supporters had launched an effort urging organizers to allow the beloved bird to attend the match alongside his family. In less than two weeks, Merlín went from waddling through the streets of Mexico City during Mexico’s opening victory to visiting the presidential palace. But on Wednesday, his proverbial flight was cut short.

Top tennis players to limit media appearances at Wimbledon as protest over prize money continues

Top tennis players at Wimbledon will extend their protest over prize money by limiting their media appearances at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament next week. The decision means the players will only talk to media for 15 minutes after each match during the first week of the tournament. The protest began at this year’s French Open where players complained that the total prize money only made up 14.3% of the clay-court tournament’s revenue.